Kartuli (geor. "ქართული", literally “Georgian”) is a traditional Georgian pair dance.
The dominant theme in Kartuli is the romantic relationship between a man and a woman (hence the frequent dance performed by the bride and groom at weddings).
Kartuli was created by many generations, improved over the centuries and became an all-Georgian form of dance - the only folk dance that is not tied to a particular region. Its author and creator is the entire people of Georgia.
The “Kartuli” dance directly reflects the character and temperament of the Georgian people — it is full of nobility, restraint and modesty. You could even say that he is the face of the Georgian nation and its historical image.
The Kartuli dance uniquely shows the age-old behavioral model of relationships between men and women.
The first thing that particularly catches the viewer's eye is the honorable attitude towards the weaker sex. A man must maintain a certain distance, his movements are restrained, only the expression of his eyes and quick, elegant leg movements express inner excitement and passion. The girl, on the other hand, demonstrates dignity, modesty and femininity, which is reflected in a proud posture and smooth movements.
“This dance is a romantic poem, a competition in beauty, flexibility, thinking and understanding” (David Javrishvili).During his stay in Georgia in 1900, Maxim Gorky, having seen the Kartuli dance at one of their receptions, toasted: “I am making a toast to the people who have created such dances to their own glory...” (Aleksi Aleksidze)
Kartuli consists of five parts:
Традиционные правила исполнения «Картули»
For many decades, folk choreography researchers have been worried about the question: when did this pair “kalvazhiani” (female-male dance), which has already come down to us under the name “Kartuli”, originate?
Let's just say that the dance finally acquired its name in 1945, when I. Sukhishvili. Before being renamed “Kartuli”, this dance was commonly called “Lekuri” (literally “Lezginsky” or “Lezginka” from Georgian).
Why was Georgian dance suddenly called lezginka?
There are various answers to this question. Let's try to figure it out.
There is a version according to which this dance was formed in Kakheti and then in Kartli, around the end of the 18th and 19th centuries, on the basis of Lezgin dance borrowed from the local Kakhetian Udins, Lezgins, and Laks. The version would perfectly explain why the dance has been called “Lekuri” for a long time, but we consider it untenable, since neither the style, vocabulary, nor the musical accompaniment of “Kartuli” even remotely resembles Lezgin dancing.
There is such a big difference between Georgian Lekuri and Lezginka that it is impossible to interconnect them: Lekuri Lekuri is a men's dance competition that demonstrates the technical advantages of the performers. Georgian Lekuri is a pair dance that demonstrates the romantic relationship between a woman and a man.
There's another interesting theory. In his memoirs, G. F. Alexi-Meskhishvili claims that it was his dance teacher named G. Karangozishvili nicknamed the “Kartuli” dance “Lekuri”: “In Kakheti, at the Alaverdoba festival in 1866, he (G. Karangozishvili) met a group of Lezgins (Leks) with his friends. Leckie invited them to the table, offered them a drink, and asked them to dance. G. Karangozishvili quickly went one lap and performed a low gasma (as he himself notes, from the Davluri dance). Then he went to young Leka and asked him to dance. It turns out that Lek, like him, walked around in circles and performed gasma on his half fingers. Giorgi Karangozishvili was so impressed with Leka's performance that he gave the young man a new dagger... He later included a “long gasma” performed by a young Lezgin in Davluri and was the first to name this dance “Lekur” after him.”
An interesting theory, but apart from this memory, there is no proof that it is correct.
There is a version that we think is the most convincing.
In the 19th century, soldiers, officials, scientists, and travelers from Russia began to actively come to Georgia. One way or another, many of them were familiar with the traditions of the North Caucasus. Partly because they came to Georgia via the North Caucasus.
Obviously, they first got acquainted with the people of this region and their culture (including dancing), and only then with Georgians. Perhaps of the abundance of dances they saw in the North Caucasus, a solo female dance performed by a charming young lezginka could make the biggest impression with its femininity, grace and attractive mobility. And this sight excited their imagination so much that the dance was named “Lezginka”. Apparently, this is how the pan-Caucasian dance term “lezginka” was woven.
Since the inhabitants of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia had the same geographical, climatic and living conditions, almost the same outfit and temperament, it can be assumed that someone else's eye could not distinguish the dances of these peoples, which seemed similar, as a result of which Georgian dances were also called “Lezginka”.
Over time, this name has taken root in Georgia itself, but this time it is translated into Georgian as “Lekuri”.
Thus, according to a mistaken tradition, all pair dances in the Caucasus were called “Lezginka” or “Lekuri”. Moreover, this applies not only to Georgian dances, but also to folk dances of other ethnic groups living in the Caucasus. There were as many Lezginok-Lekuri as there were peoples in this territory. This is where such intrinsically incorrect phrases as “Naurskaya Lezginka”, “Avar Lezginka”, “Ossetian Lezginka”, “Georgian Lezginka”, etc. came from.
The tradition of calling all Caucasian dances “lezginki” in general continued in the Soviet Union. Just look at these newspaper excerpts:
“A number of Lezgins from different ethnic groups in the Caucasus are passing through. The lightness and elegance of Chechen lezginka gives way to the charm of Naurskaya, etc. (Kharkiv Proletarians, Friday, September 2, 1929 175, Mountain Eagles of the Caucasus)
“... Lezginka was shown in the program of Caucasian peoples.” (The Red Banner, g. Krasnodon, “Caucasian Ensemble Tour”)
“Lezginka is widely cultivated. However, if we have known only one lezginka so far, the touring ensemble shows many of them. They have so many Lezgins, so many dancers, couples demonstrating various branches of this dance (Georgian, Chechen, Ossetian, etc.). (“Evening News”, Odessa, 1930, December 9, 1952)
To sum up, I must say that the term “Lekuri” or “Kartuli Lekuri” (Georgian lezginka) has been used incorrectly for a long time. Over time, even the word “kartuli” (“Georgian”) disappeared and only “Lekuri” remained. As we mentioned above, it was not until 1945 that the Lekuri dance was officially changed to Kartuli.
Let us briefly mention here that in addition to the Lekuri pair, women's solo dance, which was also called Lezginka, was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries (many literary, picturesque and photographic materials about it), as well as the Lekuri male solo dance. Both of these dances are interesting to study, but we must clearly understand that they have nothing to do with the Kartuli Lekuri/Lekuri pair dance.
An analysis of the artistic form of dance suggests that in ancient times this dance was part of Perhuli (round dance). It may have been performed by a couple (male-female) inside a circle. At that time, dance probably had a form of symbolic and theatrical improvisation. In this mini-piece, our ancestors could express their views on issues such as the movement of celestial bodies (the Sun and Moon), the life-giving spirit of the renewable forces of nature, hope for the future, etc. The situation changed in subsequent centuries: romantic content became dominant in dance, movements were improved, and the aesthetics of dance changed.
For a long time, there has been a female-male dance called “Salkhino” or “Sanadimo” (both meaning “festive”) in Georgia. It was performed on the occasion of pagan, ritual, church or rural holidays, interspersed with fist fights, “chidaoba” (wrestling), sahioba (spectacle), with round dances, songs and various games, which contributed to the emergence of the Georgian national character in choreography and the development of its spiritual world. Over time, already in the Middle Ages, the principality and the royal court fell in love with its beauty, fit into their way of life and, joining the palace festivals, became established under the name “Sadarbazo” (“Palace”). Unlike Salkhino, it has undergone changes: traffic has become refined. Dance style, which has acquired restraint and rigor, has become much different from freer and more wild rural dancing. Thus, getting rich over time, the former Sadarbazo dance was already acquiring a definite dance composition and form by the second half of the 19th century. It had its own characteristics in different regions and was called differently. We will try to understand the names below. In the meantime, let's say that all these dances are what will form the basis for the classical version of the Kartuli dance.
The written mentions/descriptions of dance that have come down to us are of great interest.
Grigol Robakidze wrote in his newspaper article:
“A temperamental young man quickly escaped from the blue wilds — radiant and frantic. While dancing, he immediately noticed his beloved and, quickly heading towards her, called her to dance at a fiery and furious rhythm. Having accepted his invitation, the girl flew over like a doe with an outstretched neck, and, as if along the edge of a green meadow, followed the young man with wild playfulness. She raised her arms beautifully and curved her flexible body. She swung beautifully and rhythmically unfolded the dance arc. There were: aspiration and restraint, traction and inaccessibility, desire and at the same time the menacing nature of the cosmic sexes. The young man, completely distraught, approached the sweetie, ignited by passion and immediately blocked the girl's path. Then a fire of desire arose and a fire of passions broke out: the jumps of his legs were blazing in a stream of colors, and burning passions were throwing stormy waves...”
Koba Dundua:
“There was a prince Baratashvili who, during a feast, invited a woman, a princess, to dance the Kartuli dance. In this dance, according to tradition, you can't turn your back on a woman and turn your back. During this dance, it turned out that the woman ran away from him, and he stayed with his back to the woman, and he shot himself because of it, which showed disrespect to the woman.”
From the memoirs of the artist of the Georgian State Folk Dance Ensemble “Guria”:
“The dagger on the waist should be on the left and the woman should be on the left hand in the same place. The right hand should always be free so that, in case of danger, the man can grab the dagger and protect the woman.”
The precise composition “Kartuli” began to be acquired only in the second half of the 19th century. In the old days, however, dance was improvisational in nature. Moreover, in different regions of Georgia, he was danced in different ways and with different musical accompaniment.
Aleksi Aleksidze (Songulashvili, 1874 — 1934) contributed to the design. Bit by bit, he collected examples of dance that existed and were performed in the 1890s, which consisted of two parts: Davluri and Lezginka (Lekuri).
Historically, the performance of Kartuli Lekuri was preceded by Davluri (from “pressure”, with cargo. “move”). Davluri was a rather complex set of plastic movements that required high skill from a dancer. It used to be performed solo. Later, a mass version of Davluri was developed, in which several couples participate. Male and female couples perform a set of movements that is solemn and prepares viewers to watch something more important. Namely, to the Kartuli doubles.
In addition, Aleksidze created his own kinetography of the Kartuli dance, and also wrote teaching aids: “A Guide for Teachers or Wants to Be a Teacher, 1923” and “Kartuli Dance Tutorial (Lekuri), compiled in 1929 by dance teacher A. Aleksidze” (in handwritten form).
In it, he openly states that this dance “should not be called Lekuri, but Kartuli”. The “Kartuli” dance also inspired Aleksidze to create the poem “Kartuli Tsekva”, published in the magazine Teatri da Tskhovreba (1924, No. 12) and others.
Due to the fact that many dancers studied at Aleksidze's studio, the name “Kartuli”, which replaced the former “Lekuri”, has already become widely used both in the world of choreography and throughout the city.
It is not possible to find out a more precise date today. However, we can afford to give you an approximate time. Grigol Robakidze wrote his article “Lekuri” in 1916 (but has not yet named the dance “Kartuli”). It should be noted that A. In 1923, Aleksidze wrote “The Guide” and then “The Tutorial”, which already contain information about the dance called Davluri's “double dance”. It follows that it was during this period of time that, thanks to Aleksidze, this name was already beginning to be used.
Summing up, it should be said once again that “Kartuli” is the most classical Georgian dance. It is a reflection of the Georgian people and their culture. It took centuries to shape its aesthetics. And despite the confusion in names that occurred in the late 18th and 19th centuries, when you carefully study the materials, you inevitably come to the conclusion that Kartuli was developed in Georgia on the basis of the traditions of male and female pair dance that have existed here since pagan times.
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